Uber’s Latest App Uber Eats, Is Launching Today

Uber’s latest app, Uber Eats, is launching in Phoenix on Tuesday, July 12.

The app, which is a separate app from Uber itself, allows users to order food from a number of Phoenix restaurants. The Uber Eats app uses the same username and password from users’ existing Uber accounts.

Phoenix is the 19th city to get the app, with Miami getting the app on the same day.

The pilot launched in Toronto last December, and is also available in Atlanta, Austin, Chicago, Dallas, Edmonton, Houston, London, Los Angeles, Melbourne, New York City, Orange County, Ottawa, Paris, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle, Singapore and Washington D.C.

“We’re really excited, because Phoenix was one of the first cities to get Uber,” said Sarah Groen, general manager for Uber Everything, which includes Uber Eats and Uber Rush. “It’s now one of the first to get Uber Eats.”

Groen, who overlooks Uber Eats in Phoenix and Houston, said that the app was custom built by the Uber Team, which searched out the top restaurants in the Valley.

Groen said they looked at Thrillist ratings, Yelp reviews, and other articles related to the top eateries in the Phoenix metro.

“We have James Beard Award-winning chefs all the way down to local mom-and-pop shops,” she said.

Groen said the target is to have about 100 restaurants available, and will continue to have more.

The Uber Eats app works differently than similar food delivery service apps in that the restaurants listed are not only heavily local, but some, like Bink’s and Bitter & Twisted, are also high-end.

“They’re restaurants we like that we want to be able to order from,” Groen said. “When we get into a market we try to go big. This is not your typical delivery.”

Uber Eats is also unique from Uber in the fact that delivery prices are not based on mileage nor price surges depending on time of day. According to Groen, the price of delivery is a flat rate of $3.99, including the price of the dish. The delivery fee will be waived during launch day July 12.

Groen said the Uber Eats drivers are mostly Uber X drivers, saying that they “reached out to the top Uber X partners.”

You can’t get a ride when someone is delivering the food, Groen said, but you can order food while you’re taking an Uber ride.

The Phoenix launch will include downtown and central Phoenix, Arcadia, Paradise Valley and south Scottsdale up to Shea Boulevard.

Groen said Uber Eats “will have a pretty big expansion plan for the next month and a half.”

The service is also helping the restaurant partners find “additional revenue streams,” Groen said, considering that many of the eateries don’t offer delivery. Though Groen could not specify how much the restaurants are benefitting, she said the sales are “pretty significant.”